One Fund already at $10M

Frank QuaratielloFriday, April 19, 2013

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Gov. Deval Patrick will introduce major corporate donors today to attorney Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of The One Fund Boston, which already has raised more than $10 million for victims of Monday’s Marathon bomb attacks.

“It is a tremendous show of strength and solidarity not just of people here in the commonwealth, but across the world,” Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce said. “It’s been unbelievable.”

Marathon principal sponsor John Hancock Financial Services kicked off the fund with a $1 million commitment and firms including Bain Capital, AT&T and Partners HealthCare followed suit. Stop & Shop and its parent Ahold USA have pledged $500,000 while Verizon and Dunkin’ Brands have donated $100,000. Adidas saw high demand yesterday for limited-edition “Boston Stands As One” shirts, the proceeds of which will go to The One Fund Boston.

“After the attacks happened, there was an outpouring of support from around the world,” said Joyce, describing how the fund was started. “In an effort to harness that into an organization that was credible and would benefit the victims in a way that would matter the most, the One Fund Boston was created.”

In addition to corporate contributions, as of last night some 20,000 individual donors had given more than $1,334,310 by going online to onefundboston.org.

“That’s one of the most impressive things of all,” said Joyce. “It’s not just big corporations. It’s individual donors.”

Feinberg, a Brockton native and University of Massachusetts Amherst alum, was tapped to handle the delicate task of determining who is eligible for funds — and how much — because of his experience overseeing past efforts, such as the Sept. 11 victims’ compensation fund.

“We’ll ensure that donations go where they should go and that this will have a long-term benefit for victims,” Joyce said.